The Guru Guide : The Best Ideas of the Top Management Thinkers

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment with too many oversights
Review: Apparently this book got rave reviews. So how come I hadn't heard of it? When I saw it on the bookshelf a couple of years ago I picked it up with great anticipation. The idea of getting the current best ideas for the top management thinkers of the last 20 years sounded great. As I skimmed through, it was well organized and the topics relevant. I decided to spend my money and buy it. You have to understand that I have been successfully cutting back on all of the professional books that I buy.

It was an easy read and some of the synthesis was very good. I can even see how I might reference the book occasionally. Never the less, this is the first time I have rated a book so low. As an individual in the field of organizational development and management change, it wasn't as comprehensive as I would have liked. For the lay person, I am not sure that it is helpful enough. The material on high performance teams was useful. Other than this chapter, it is not clear to me what a manager would get out of this other than more theory.

I was glad to see most of my favourites: Chris Argyris, Charles Handy, Henry Mintzberg, Edgar Schein, Margaret Wheatley, Marv Weisbord. But where is Rosabeth Moss Kanter and why does Michael Porter get 15 pages - more than Warren Bennis? John Kotter is referenced a couple of times but not enough on his work regarding leadership. For that matter, the work that James Kouzes and Barry Posner have done beginning with The Leadership Challenge and followed up by Encouraging the Heart: A Leader's Guide to Rewarding and Recognizing Others isn't even alluded to in the book. This is a grave oversight.

Rating:
Summary: the title explains it all
Review: This is a great text. It lists a variety of topics that span I/O Psychology. As I began writing summaries for 360 feedback submissions, I was at a loss in suggesting methods for individuals to improve upon their weak areas in management. This text was suggested as a resource. After reading this text, I gained much insight into different areas for clients to explore. This is a great read if you want straight to the point information.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading for both MBA's and non-MBA's!
Review: This is truly great reading! Top management thinkers' ideas arranged according to topic (as opposed to more "intuitive" organization by date/period or by author/thinker).

How I wish I'd come across this book during my graduate school days at the Asian Institute of Management. Truly unfortunate I think, that many MBA's will receive their degrees after having read only a handful of the great thinkers' works (depending on who's ideas are perhaps being pushed or espoused by the business school in question). "The Guru Guide" is essential reading ESPECIALLY for the MBA/MBA wannabe since it not only presents and summarizes lead management gurus' ideas but provides an excellent and convenient forum for juxtaposition and critique as well. For instance, how Michael Porter's ideas (highlighted by masteral degree programs at AIM) on competitive strategy were later disputed by Mintzberg, then by Hamel and Prahalad, who later received the same from Treacy and Wearsema, and so forth.

I recommend this book for MBA's and non-MBA's alike, anyone interested in management concepts. Key insight? With every idea, there's always a counter idea ... with every "best way", there's always an equally valid "other way"...